Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 865

The pleasure district of Luoyang at night. Luoyang was an old capital city, not as famous as before, but still full of life. Bright lights shone on the streets, attracting people looking for fun.

“Ugh… I’m getting dizzy.”

“Ha ha! You’re weak! Did you only have one cup?”

“No way! I can drink all night!”

“Yeah, right. Big talk from a – Oof!”

The drunk man stumbled and fell hard when he bumped into someone walking past.

“You crazy – !” The drunk man started to yell, but stopped suddenly.

He looked up at the person he bumped into. The man’s face wasn’t scary, and he wasn’t very big. But the drunk man felt his breath catch in his throat. He started to shake.

It wasn’t just because he was easily scared. Anyone would be afraid looking at the many knife scars on the stranger’s face.

“O-oh… O-oh…”

His friend, suddenly sober, quickly rushed over and bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry! My friend is very drunk…”

“……”

“I-I’ll apologize on his behalf, sir!”

Just as the man with cold eyes started to turn, the person next to him put a hand on his arm. “Let’s go. We don’t have time to waste.”

“……”

The scarred man’s mouth moved a little. He looked at them with eyes that showed nothing, then turned and walked away without saying anything.

The man who stopped him chuckled and said to the drunk men, “I think there’s a gambling place up ahead. Why don’t you go? You guys must be lucky today.”

“……”

“No, wait. Maybe you used up all your luck already. To meet the Bloodied Blade Demon and live to tell the story.” The man said quietly to himself, then quickly followed the other man.

“……”

The drunk men suddenly became completely sober. Cold sweat ran down their faces.

“What… what was that face?”

“Did you see his eyes?”

“He must be a fighter, right?”

“Definitely.” It wasn’t common for normal people to see fighters like that.

“Why are fighters here…? Wait.” The man, still confused, suddenly tensed up and lowered his shoulders. He saw a huge sword hanging from the waist of the man who just walked past. It looked scary.

“……”

And that wasn’t all. A sharp spear stuck out from the back of the person in front, and a very big man with strong muscles walked beside him.

“W-what’s happening?” All the people walking by seemed to give off a cold, dangerous feeling. Other people felt it too. They held their breath and moved to the side of the street.

“Is there a war coming?”

“Where did all these fighters come from?”

More and more people with serious, worried faces appeared. Ordinary people watched them with a mix of curiosity and fear.

But someone else was watching all this with different eyes. *‘…The Bloodied Blade Demon, the Iron Ghost, the Revolving Spear Devil, the Nine Underworlds Swordsman? What in the world is happening?’* Kwak Byeong, the leader of the Beggars’ Sect in Luoyang, went pale when he saw these powerful fighters from the Demonic Faction gathering.

If he hadn’t seen it himself, Kwak Byeong would never have believed these people would be in the same place. Demonic Faction members usually didn’t trust each other and fought more with their own kind than with other groups. *‘I need to get help.’* Something big must be happening if these dangerous people were meeting here.

Kwak Byeong was very scared. He was about to turn back when he saw someone else and stopped, frozen. “Oh… Uh…?” He could see clearly the face of a man walking towards him. “D-Disconnection… Soul Severing Blood Hand…” Kwak Byeong’s face went completely white. If the others were famous in the Jiangnan Demonic Faction, the Soul Severing Blood Hand was much, much more important.

The thin, middle-aged man walked by quickly. He turned his head slightly and looked at Kwak Byeong. The moment their eyes met, Kwak Byeong felt ice all through his body. *‘He saw me…’* But that was all. Even though he knew Kwak Byeong was from the Beggars’ Sect, the Soul Severing Blood Hand didn’t care and just walked past.

“……”

Kwak Byeong’s legs felt weak, and he fell to the ground.

“Branch Leader!”

“Are you okay?” The beggars behind him ran to help him up.

“What in the world is happening?” Kwak Byeong didn’t answer. He just watched the Demonic Faction members walking away.

The tall tower of the Hwahwaru brothel stood high above them as they walked down the street. The top floor of a brothel was for the richest customers. A brothel was judged by how fancy its top floor looked. The top floor of Hwahwaru, known as the best brothel in Luoyang, was decorated with very fancy things.

But now, the top floor of Hwahwaru was silent, like a graveyard. Usually, it would be noisy with music and women laughing.

“……”

Those seated in the chairs, which looked expensive at a glance, stared silently ahead.

It was an interesting situation.

There were at least twenty people sitting on the top floor of Hwahwaru right now. But no one spoke first, and none of them made eye contact with each other.

They all knew. Even though they were called the Demonic Faction, they were people who hated each other. They fought each other for power and land, and would easily betray each other. It was surprising they weren’t fighting right now, with so many of them in one room.

They were here for a reason, and they were trying not to make anyone angry to avoid fighting. But the silence went on for too long, and someone finally lost patience.

“Damn! How long are we going to wait?” Byeoksa Blade Jin-ryang shouted loudly. They had been here for half an hour, and the people who called them here still hadn’t appeared. He was getting very angry.

“Be quiet, kid.”

“What?”

“I said shut up, or I’ll push my sword down your throat.”

Byeoksa Blade’s eyes went red with anger. “Do you think you can do that, Red Freak?” Byeoksa Blade growled.

Red Freak laughed. “I can’t beat Byeoksa Blade by myself.”

“You know it.”

“But I think there are at least ten people here who could push a sword down your throat. Know your place and be quiet.”

“You –” Byeoksa Blade was about to explode when –

“It’s too loud.”

“……”

Byeoksa Blade shut his mouth. He looked at the Soul Severing Blood Hand, sitting in the back. The Soul Severing Blood Hand’s face showed no feelings, and Byeoksa Blade couldn’t guess what he was thinking. Byeoksa Blade was still angry, but he sat down quietly. Even though Byeoksa Blade was very famous for being bad in Zhejiang – so bad that children would cry if they heard his name – he wouldn’t risk making the Soul Severing Blood Hand angry.

The strong are respected in the martial world. And that law of the strong was even more thoroughly observed in the world of the Demonic Faction.

“But…” Just then, the Soul Severing Blood Hand spoke, sounding a little annoyed. “It’s true, this is boring. The Seven Killers of Gangseo are not very good hosts.”

“We would have been good hosts if they were guests.”

Right then, the door behind them opened suddenly, and seven men walked in. Everyone looked at them at once.

*‘Those are…’

*‘…Yes.’* The world was big. Not everyone who was famous knew each other, even if they knew their nicknames and what they were known for. People seeing the Seven Killers of Gangseo for the first time today nodded in agreement. The Iron Ghost smirked. *‘The rumors are true.’* He could feel their power; his fingers felt like they were buzzing.

The Seven Killers of Gangseo. Seven brothers who had sworn to be loyal to each other. They were called the Grim Reapers of Gangseo Province. Each of them was incredibly infamous. Normally, people like this would fight each other. Like the saying goes, “Two tigers cannot live on one mountain.” So, seven tigers on one mountain would be chaos.

But instead of fighting each other, the Seven Killers of Gangseo became brothers. Even though there were only seven of them, they were so strong that no one in the world would dare to attack them easily. Especially… *‘Is that the First Killer? Gwi-do Mu-jeong, Gal Cheon-rip?’* When he saw the man walking forward with a relaxed look, all the muscles in his body tightened. His body knew instantly that this man was dangerous.

*Thud. Thud.* Gal Cheon-rip walked forward, turned around, and grinned at everyone. “Welcome, you trash. Or should I call you cowards who ran away with your tails between your legs?”

“You –” Everyone’s face became angry at these sudden insults.

“I didn’t know insulting people was your hobby?” The Iron Ghost said with a cold smile.

Gal Cheon-rip chuckled. “Maybe it is. Let me introduce myself. I am Gal Cheon-rip, the First Hound of the Seven Hounds of Gangseo.”

The people with their arms crossed nodded slightly. Everyone already knew it was Gal Cheon-rip without him saying so. Just the way he carried himself was different.

“Let’s get to the point.” Gal Cheon-rip said, like he didn’t need to be polite. “You arrogant fools came all the way here because you’re desperate, right? You ran away from the wolves in Gangnam to Gangbuk, but Gangbuk is even more dangerous, isn’t it?”

Everyone here had come to Gangbuk because they didn’t want to obey Jang Il-so. Jang Il-so said they could only surrender or die. But Gangbuk wasn’t a safe place either. It wasn’t as violent as Gangnam, but it was even harder to survive in Gangbuk. Every time they tried to do anything, the Shaolin, Tang Clan, and Beggars’ Sect would come and watch them very closely. Everyone was very tired of this situation, even if they didn’t say it.

That’s why they came when Gal Cheon-rip asked them to. If things weren’t so bad, these people would never have met like this. Especially because they hated being in groups and had come to Gangbuk to be alone.

“Stop talking rubbish and tell us. Why did you call us?” When the Soul Severing Blood Hand spoke, Gal Cheon-rip’s eyes shone. “If the Soul Severing Blood Hand asks, I have to answer. The reason I called you is very simple. I have no money.” Some people started to laugh quietly.

“So? Are you asking us to give you money?”

“I’m like a beggar, but you guys are beggars too, right? I can’t take money from beggars. So…” Blue light flashed in Gal Cheon-rip’s eyes. “It’s better to kill you and take your money.”

His voice was so cold that the room seemed to get colder.